How to Organize a Daily Prayer According to Orthodox Traditions

As an Orthodox Christian, organizing a prayer according to tradition typically follows a structured format that includes specific elements and practices. (That said there is no one way to pray.) In prayer we should glorify God and give Him thanks, then offer petitions. Here’s a general outline for a beginning daily prayer:

Preparation:

Have a quiet and private place where you can focus on your prayers without distractions.

Light a candle or an oil lamp as a symbol of Christ's presence.

Begin with a short period of silence to calm your mind and heart. Make a few prostrations or metanias (low bow).

Invocation:

Begin by making the sign of the cross and saying a short prayer, such as "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen."

You can also recite the Trisagion prayer three times: "Holy God, Holy Mighty, Holy Immortal, have mercy on us."

Psalms and Scripture:

Read and meditate on a selection of Psalms or other Scriptural passages. The Psalms are often considered the prayer book of the Church and are widely used in Orthodox worship. Consider the Six morning psalms (3, 38, 63, 88, 103, 143) in the morning and the evening Psalms (70 and 143). Also, the Psalm 50 (Numbering according the the Septuagint.)

Concentrate on the words and their meaning.

Intercessions:

Offer prayers for others, including your loved ones, friends, those in need, the Church, and the world.

You can use a prayer book or prayer list to guide you in specific intercessions.

The Lord's Prayer:

Recite the Lord's Prayer, also known as the "Our Father," as taught by Jesus in the Gospels.

Reflect on the meaning of each phrase and internalize its significance in your life.

Personal Petitions:

Express your personal needs, concerns, and gratitude to God.

Pour out your heart before Him and seek His guidance, healing, forgiveness, and strength.

Conclusion:

Conclude with a prayer of thanksgiving and a final sign of the cross.

You can also add a closing hymn or spiritual song if desired.

Once you have a habit of offering such a prayer every morning, then add a routine for the evening before you go to bed. In your evening prayer review the difficulties of the day and ask forgiveness.

Remember that this is a general outline, and you can personalize your prayers based on your spiritual needs and the guidance of your spiritual father or priest. It's important to approach prayer with humility, reverence, and a sincere heart, seeking a deep connection with God. Concentration is essential.

For more on Prayer go to this website: www.OrthodoxPrayer.org

Basics for Daily Prayer

Get the “Daily Readings” App that includes an Orthodox Prayer book

How to Strengthen Our Relationship with God

Improving your relationship with God involves an ongoing transformative journey. 

You need a life firmly based on faith in the Gospel teachings along with a constant effort to overcome your struggles to become like Christ. This path involves embracing the practices and principles rooted in the Orthodox tradition and following the example of Jesus. Here are some key points that can help you move closer to God.

1. Deepen you faith by Studying the teachings of Christ found in Gospel stories. 

The necessary faith is developed through consistent study of the life and words of Jesus found in the New Testament. When you study them, read them as a story being told by eyewitnesses and about events that seem beyond reason. Not everything can be rationalized in what these writers experienced. In your study you will gain essential insights into the mystical nature of faith and develop a full understanding about Jesus’ character and virtues, particularly His meekness and humility. Christ, God born in flesh, is the fulfillment of the image that God has given all of us. Jesus being fully human, serves as an example for you to emulate as you navigate your own spiritual journey. As you read Scripture, you will encounter stories of God's magnificent works and witness His immense love revealed through His creation and the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, Jesus, on the Cross. Contemplating the depth of God's love and the selflessness of Christ's sacrifice,  let this inspire you to respond with gratitude, awe, and a desire to return and imitate His love and humility in your own life.

2. Align your life with God’s commandments and the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church. 

It is not enough to understand by reading Scripture what God expects of you. You must learn to become like Christ. You must learn to think like Him and act like Him. This may seem like an impossible task. This task is our purpose and the role of His Church is to help us. Your Orthodox faith places great importance on the Church as the Body of Christ and the sacramental life. You can organize your life so that you are actively participating in the sacraments, such as Holy Communion and Confession. Regular Church attendance with participation will strengthen your relationship through the Eucharist and the healing nature of Confession.. The sacraments are given to us through the work of the Hoy Spirit for the sole purpose to nourish your soul and facilitate your spiritual growth.

3. Acknowledge sin as the cause of your separation from God. 

Understanding your sinful nature is probably the most important thing to focus on to strengthen your relationship with God. Reflect on the story of Adam and Eve and how their disobedience separated them from God. Your sinfulness is what separates you from God. Recognizing the dire consequences of your way of life helps cultivate a repentant heart to reconcile with God. Since God is mercy and has unbounded love, He will forgive you and help you grow closer to Him. This is what He desires for everyone. Think of sin as missing the mark, which is the meaning of the Greek word translated as sin. When you are unable to live by the ideals exemplified in Jesus, you are involved in sin, missing the mark, not living up to what He expects of you.

4. Cultivate a spirit of repentance. 

We all miss the mark and the way to overcome each transgression in repentance. Repentance is the act of turning away from sinful behaviors and attitudes, and turning towards God with a contrite heart. By knowing that your sinful nature is what separates you from God, you will become motivated to repent. Repentance means changing your way of thinking to overcome your sinful tendencies and bad habits. Again this idea of change of mind is the meaning of the greek word translated as repentance. You first must acknowledge your shortcomings, then seeking God’s forgiveness and making a commitment to change, you will find that you grow closer to God. Everyday review your actions and seek repentance, ways to change how you think and act. Periodically participate in the Sacrament of Holy Confession, which cleans the slate with God, like in baptism, and you receive spiritual guidance from your spiritual father guided by the Holy Spirit. Also, as mentioned earlier, participate regularly in Holy Communion. In your daily prayers, another important Orthodox discipline, in addition to giving thanks and glorifying God, ask for the help of the Holly Spirit. Doing this you will open yourself gradually to the transformative work of God's grace, allowing Him in cooperation with your efforts, purify and renew your heart and give you needed strength to resist sinful tendencies. Jesus says that to see God requires a pure heart. This comes with a recognition of your sinfulness and repentance, a change of mind and action.

5. Strive to overcome your passions and bad habits. 

As you are awakened to you weaknesses, you begin to understand the nature of your sinfulness. The Church Fathers call these passions. Without your effort to seek them these will remain hidden from you, buried in an insensitive conscience. You will discover that there are many things in your daily life you thought were normal are actually incongruent with a life in Christ. View these discoveries as positive, leading you closer to God. We are all sinners, but only a few of us make the effort to come closer to God. Your efforts must involve more than your self effort. You need a cooperative effort with the Holy Spirit, calling for divine help in uncovering and combating your undesirable habits. Gradually you will be freeing yourself from them. Every time you step into the Nave of the Church you are entering a sacred space filled with the direct presence of the Holy Spirit. Call on it for help. The Church is where we worship God and receive the mysteries, the purifying gifts of His Body and Blood through Holy Communion. Participate! Also, through the other spiritual disciplines taught by the Church: daily prayer, fasting and the cultivation of virtues.  In this way you will become an active participant in your spiritual growth improving your relationship with God.

6. Improve your Personal discipline.

God will not work alone, but He works with you. He may awaken you to your need to act, but waits for you to respond. This means you must become intentional in all your choices, keeping God in mind, aligning your will with His principles and teachings, even when faced with challenges or temptations faced in daily life. This self-effort extends to various aspects of life, such as making time for pryer and worship, guarding your thoughts, and exercising self-control over all your actions. You make life intentional. The ascetic practices of fasting and daily prayer and regular worship help. By cultivating personal discipline, we enable ourselves to act in cooperation with God through the work of the Holy Spirit.

7. Tame your mind by practicing watchfulness. 

Watchfulness involves being vigilant and mindful of your thoughts, desires, and actions. This involves recognizing before you act the subtle temptations that can lead you astray. This is work that takes place in your mind. It is also called guarding your heart, protecting it from distractions and worldly temptations that may lead you to act by your sinful tendencies. As you become more watchful you will develop a deeper sensitivity to the way excel forces work on you and how God can help. When you gain this ability you will avoid most temptations, allowing you to respond with obedience to God and align your will with His. 

8. Learn the practice of Love

One of our modern day saints, Saint Porphyrios, taught that love is the means through which you unite with God and experience His presence in your life. He stressed that true love is expressed in humility, allowing you to genuinely care for others without seeking recognition or expecting anything in return. By humbling yourself and placing the needs of others above our own, you emulate the selfless love of Christ and deepen your relationship with God. He taught that through acts of love and compassion, you not only benefit others, but you will also experience spiritual healing and transformation. Love has the power to mend broken relationships, reconcile hearts, and restore harmony in your life. He emphasized the importance of cultivating unconditional love towards all people, regardless of their background, beliefs, or actions. He taught that love should be your default response, as it reflects the love of God Himself. By embracing this radical love, you will grow closer to God and experience His transformative grace.

Strengthening your relationship with God involves a lifelong journey requiring commitment and perseverance. 

With faith in God, the life of Christ, His loving nature and His desire for us to become like him, you begin this journey. Awakening to how you frequently miss the mark in your daily life, and that these little sinful acts are what separates you from God, you can begin a new life of repentance. Consistently participating in the sacramental life of the Church, developing better personal discipline and watchfulness, and doing better at loving others, in cooperation with the work of the Holy Spirit you can progress, step-by-step, day-by-day. The Church is the body of Christ established to nurture along this path to becoming like Christ, a union with Him, Theosis.

Also, be sure to seek and follow the advice of a spiritual father. He will guide you in implementing these practices into your daily life.

How to Be a Good Christian

 

Being a good Christian involves living with purpose. It is more than merely adhering to a set of religious beliefs or set of values. It requires a love of God and making your life’s purpose to serve Him. When you do this you will love others also. A good Christian life involves an active and transformative journey of faith lived in the Church Christ established for our healing, This involves nurturing our faith, taming our passions, developing virtues, and seeking repentance. These are all key elements for living a good Christian life.

Faith: To be a good Christian we must have relationship with God based on love. The foundation of this relationship is faith. As Orthodox Christians, we are encouraged to approach our faith with reverence, recognizing the mystical reality of the universe and God’s presence in all things. We see Scripture as a sacred account, a story told by eyewitnesses who encountered God's divine revelation. We should read it as a story and not as a philosophical or historical work. The Gospel story revels great mysteries about God and how with His love for humankind, He set about to prepare all of us for eternal life in His kingdom. By immersing ourselves in the Gospel story, we gain a deeper understanding of God's love and realize our purpose.

Nurturing Faith: Our faith needs to be nurtured. This involves regular participation in the life of the Church; attending services and actively engaging in the sacraments, especially Holy Communion. This allows us to receive God's grace needed for spiritual growth. We must also establish a daily routine of reading Scripture and praying for His help. By dedicating time to these practices, we open ourselves to a deeper communion with God. Bt surrounding ourselves with friends who share our faith provides encouragement and support for a good Christian life.

Taming Passions: Orthodox Christianity recognizes that we are engaged in a struggle against our passions, those desires that lead us away from God. These stem from our fallen condition and are amplified due to the evil forces in this world. Fasting is an important discipline prescribed by the Church to helps us gain mastery over these passions. By following fasting guidelines offered by the Church, we learn to control our physical appetites and redirect our focus towards God. This gives us the discipline needed to control all the other passions. To become a good Christian we need to understand all our weaknesses and acknowledge our bad habits. By recognizing our vulnerabilities, we can actively combat and overcome them with God's help.

Developing Virtues: Being a good Orthodox Christian also requires the cultivation of virtues. These are the qualities that reflect God's character. These are found in the commandments given to us by Jesus and the way he lived. The most important one is love. Loving God with our whole heart and loving others, even our enemies.  Knowing our weaknesses leads to knowing the virtues we most need to intentionally practice. For example, if we struggle with anger, we can actively pursue the development of patience. Through intentional and consistent practice, the essential virtues become part of our character, guiding our actions and interactions with others. In this way we align ourselves more closely with the example of Christ. Becoming like Him is the nature of a good Christian.

Repentance: God is forgiving and wants to help us. Recognizing our mistakes and seeking forgiveness and committing to changing our way of thinking and acting, is an essential aspect of the Christian life. None of us are perfect. We should each day undertake a self-reflection to evaluate our thoughts, words, and deeds in the light of God's commandments. Then to help us change in  line with God’s teachings, regularly attending the sacrament of confession provides a divine cleansing of all our sins, like baptism.  We will also receive spiritual guidance from a trusted spiritual father enlightened by the Holy Spirit. By humbly listening to our spiritual father's counsel, we gain valuable insights about the changes we need to make and suggestions how to implement them.

Conclusion: Being a good Christian requires a life of repentance. We must nurture our faith, tame our passions, uncover our weaknesses and develop the opposing virtues. Reading the Gospel daily as a sacred story will help us deepen our faith. A daily routine of prayer seeking God’s help will bring His grace. By fasting we will develop the needed discipline to overcome our passions. By associating with fellow believers we will be encouraged to live a life consistent with God’s commandments. All this together provides a solid foundation for living a good Christian life and fulfilling our purpose to become like Christ. This process we call Theosis.

Should We Distance Ourselves From Music That Does Not Respect God?

In the Orthodox Church, music is seen as an important way to lift one to heavenly heights. Therefore, we should choose music that nourishes our soul. St. John Chrysostom writes, 

"Nothing so uplifts the soul, gives it wings, liberates it from the earth, and promotes its values and scorn for everything of this world as does harmonious music and a divinely composed song.”

St. John of Kronstadt advises, 

"If the sounds of music evoke calm, pure, and holy sentiments, listen and nourish your soul. However, if they awaken passions in you, stop listening and turn away from both the sound and spirit of this music."

 Whenever he encountered anything in art, entertainment, or the culture that violated the sanctity of the soul, he would quote St. Paul, 

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers. (2 Timothy 4:3).

We should avoid music that brings disharmony or disrespects God. It is important to be aware that music can also inflame passions, making it difficult to control our desires, especially regarding sexuality. Modern music often plays on this passion. The lyrics of music, like the words we read or hear, are important.

Orthodox Christians are encouraged to discern whether music aligns with their spiritual values and contributes positively to their relationship with God. Some individuals may choose to distance themselves from artists whose work does not align with their beliefs. Others may adopt a more discerning approach, seeking to find and support artists whose work resonates with their faith.

While discernment is crucial, it would not be wise to fill one's soul or mind with music that does not respect or glorify God. The question of whether individuals should distance themselves from certain music is a personal and spiritual decision. Orthodox Christianity emphasizes discernment and the cultivation of one's spiritual life, striving for holiness and purity. Believers are encouraged to guard their hearts and minds against influences that may lead them away from God.

Ultimately, the decision to distance oneself from artists whose music does not respect or worship God should be guided by one's conscience, in consultation with their spiritual father within the Orthodox tradition. It is important to approach such decisions with humility, love, and respect for the individual journeys of faith that others may be on.

Why Do Some Christians View the Use of Icons as a Sin?

In today's Christian world, objections to the use of icons are generally not widespread. However, there are still some individuals and groups who object to the use of icons and even consider their use sinful.

The reasons for objections are based on a misunderstanding or fear of idolatry. Some may observe the veneration of icons in the Orthodox Church and mistakenly think they are being worshiped. This view is seen as a violation of the biblical commandment against creating “graven images” found in Exodus 20:4-5. In  ancient times “graven images” referred to physical representations of a deity or an object of worship were prevalent, even in the early years of Christianity during the time of Imperial Rome.

It is essential to distinguish between icons and “graven images.” The misconception comes from observing Orthodox Christians venerating icons, and thinking they are worshiping the images themselves. In Orthodox Christianity icons are not objects of worship; they are symbolic representation, serving as windows to the divine. Icons depict Christ, the Virgin Mary, saints, or biblical events and are intended to direct our thoughts and prayers towards the heavenly realities they depict. They serve as aids in contemplation and help foster our connection with the divine.

Historical factors also contribute to the objections against icons. There was a period of time when there were leaders of the Roman Empire who tried to eliminate the use of Icons. Some Byzantine emperors, such as Leo III (717-741 CE), were influenced by Islamic beliefs and policies and adopted iconoclastic positions as a way to align with their Muslim counterparts. This led to a bloody conflict with monks in many monasteries defending and protecting icons. The stance of these defenders, known as iconodules, eventually prevailed, and the Seventh Ecumenical Council in 787 CE affirmed the use and veneration of icons as an integral part of Orthodox Christian tradition. Orthodox commemorate this decision on Orthodox Sunday, the first Sunday of Great Lent. (Below is the affirmation of faith that is read by the Priest on this occasions)

Some objections to icons may also arise from theological perspectives influenced by the Protestant Reformation. The doctrine of the "priesthood of all believers" emerged during this period, emphasizing the direct access that every believer has to God's grace and forgiveness through their faith in Christ. Some Christians who hold this perspective may argue that a focus on icons distracts from a personal and direct relationship with God. They believe that the emphasis should be on the spiritual and internal aspects of faith, rather than on external representations.

It is worth emphasizing that objections to icons within contemporary Christianity are not representative of the broader Christian tradition, which includes the majority of Christian denominations that accept and value the use of icons as aids to worship and prayer. While objections to icons exist, it is important to foster understanding and respect for diverse perspectives within the broader Christian family. Icons are deeply valued as Holy Tradition in Orthodox Christianity as important tools that enrich our worship, deepen our spiritual journey, and connect us with the divine and the communion of saints. Those who object should not influence your Orthodox faith and practice to include icons in you prayer life.

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Note: Here is an except from the Affirmation of the Faith from the Seventh Ecumenical council that is read by the Priest in the procession of icons at the end of the Liturgy on this special day.

As the Prophets beheld; as the Apostles taught; as the Church received; as the Teachers dogmatized; as the Universe ha agreed; as Grace has shone forth; as Truth has been proven; a falsehood has been disproven; as Wisdom has been presented; a Christ has rewarded.

This is what we believe; this is what we declare; this is what we preach, Christ our true God, and we hon His Saints in words, in thought, in sacrifices, in Churches and Icons. Christ, we worship as God and Master, and His Saints we honor as true servants of our same Lord, and accordingly we grant them veneration.

This is the Faith of the Apostles!

This is the Faith of the Fathers!

This is the Faith of the Orthodox!

This is the Faith which has established the Universe!

Therefore, with brotherly and filial love, we praise these preachers of piety, for the glory and honor of their own pious struggle for the Faith, and we say: "Eternal be the memory of the defenders of Orthodoxy; pious Sovereigns, holy Patriarchs, Hierarchs, Teachers, Martyrs, and Confessors.